The first change was his skin.
The wrinkles that had formed due to old age regained elasticity and vitality.
His pale white hair gradually returned to a glossy black, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni was no longer a frail old man nearing death. Instead, he had become a young person radiating vitality.
What was happening to him now clearly exceeded Yoriichi's understanding.
He fell into a daze once again.
Yoriichi found it difficult to comprehend why he had suddenly grown younger.
Even more puzzling was how someone who had already died could come back to life.
...
"Mr. Yoriichi, you must be from a small place, right?"
"Is this your first time visiting the Imperial Capital, so you're feeling a little overwhelmed?"
Sayo smiled as she continued,
"Ieyasu and I also came here from our village to make something of ourselves. Compared to our hometown, the Imperial Capital really is incredibly prosperous."
Although Yoriichi gave Sayo the impression of being somewhat innocent and out of place, she quickly came up with a reasonable explanation: like them, he must also be someone from a rural area who had come to the big city for the first time.
When Sayo and Ieyasu first arrived, they too had felt lost amid the Capital's overwhelming scale.
The Imperial Capital was simply too vast.
"The Imperial Capital, huh…"
"Indeed, I've never seen such a prosperous city."
After hearing Sayo's words, Yoriichi glanced around and nodded seriously.
"A city this prosperous… I have never witnessed anything like it in my life."
As someone from Japan's Sengoku period, Yoriichi's understanding of cities was vastly different.
In his era, a city with ten thousand people was already considered extremely prosperous.
A city with thirty thousand inhabitants could rank among the most powerful domains in the country.
But the Imperial Capital—
With a permanent population in the millions, and hundreds of thousands more coming and going, was beyond anything Yoriichi had ever imagined.
After all, the total population of Japan during the Sengoku period was only a few million.
Naturally, to Yoriichi, this level of prosperity was unprecedented.
"Yeah, I'd heard from the elders in my village how prosperous the Capital was."
"But even with mental preparation, I was still shocked when I actually arrived."
Sayo chuckled softly as she looked at the slightly dazed Yoriichi.
"So, what are your plans next, Mr. Yoriichi? Ieyasu and I are currently waiting for a companion who got separated from us."
"Once he arrives, we're planning to enlist in the army."
Sayo explained her plan.
Due to worsening economic conditions in their hometown, Sayo, Ieyasu, and the separated Tatsumi had come to the Imperial Capital to make a name for themselves.
Once they earned enough money, they could help ease their village's hardships.
Unfortunately,
In the original Akame ga Kill storyline, Sayo and Ieyasu underestimated the filth lurking within the Imperial Capital… and met tragic ending before the main story even properly began.
"My plans…?"
"I'm not sure."
Yoriichi thought of his brother who had become a demon, and a trace of sorrow appeared on his face.
"I'll probably continue searching for traces of demons."
At this moment, Yoriichi simply believed he had been reborn.
He did not realize he had already crossed into an entirely different world.
Determined not to waste the gifts he had been given, Yoriichi resolved to continue searching for demons.
Even if it took his entire life—
He would find the root of the demons… and eliminate it.
Though in truth, Yoriichi himself wasn't certain whether he could ever find that source again.
If the demon chose to hide, he knew he would have no means of tracking it down.
That chance encounter in the past had likely been his first… and last… opportunity to kill the Demon Progenitor.
"Demons?"
"Is that the name of some Danger Beast?"
Sayo tilted her head slightly.
"But Mr. Yoriichi, you're planning to search for this 'demon' alone?"
"The world is huge. Finding a specific Danger Beast would be very difficult."
Clearly, Sayo and Yoriichi weren't on the same wavelength.
Seeing the determination in Yoriichi's expression, Sayo smiled mischievously.
"But if you chose a different approach, you might get twice the results with half the effort."
Yoriichi hadn't tried to hide his emotions.
Sayo, being observant, quickly noticed the confusion buried deep within him.
It was the kind of lost, uncertain sadness that tugged at the heart.
Yoriichi was the first person Sayo had met since leaving her village who looked so deeply sorrowful.
She wanted to help him.
"Mr. Yoriichi, why don't you join us and make something of yourself together?"
Sayo smiled brightly.
"If you succeed, anything you want to do will become much easier."
"There'll be many people willing to help you. Then you'll definitely be able to find that 'demon' you're searching for."
Sayo didn't show any fear toward the "demons" Yoriichi mentioned.
After all, she and Ieyasu possessed combat abilities comparable to Tatsumi at the beginning of Akame ga Kill!.
They weren't particularly powerful, but they weren't weak either.
"Make something of myself…?"
"No. Demons are far too dangerous."
Yoriichi shook his head firmly.
It was clear he didn't believe the cheerful girl and her companion could help him.
"Hey, hey, Sayo and I are pretty strong, you know!"
Ieyasu protested from nearby.
"We can even hunt first-class Danger Beasts one-on-one."
"The 'demons' you're talking about… they can't be Super Danger Beasts, right?"
"As long as they're not Super Danger Beasts, it doesn't matter how many there are, we can handle them!"